Last week, during a visit to the Ramakrishna Mission in Narayanganj, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Md Moinul Islam informed the press that the reinvestigation on the highly-publicized murder case of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi has started.
This update comes after the High Court's decision to transfer the case from the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to a high-power special task force after RAB had delayed submitting an investigation report 113 times.
The murder investigation has been highly scrutinized not only for its delays but also for the conflicting information disclosed by the authorities. After 12 years of mismanagement, it is high time to ask if justice has been delayed or denied.
The Sagar-Runi case has been ongoing for 12 years with little hope of solving. The 2012 murder case has left a mark on the nation, not only because of its barbarity but also for the events that followed.
It seemed like the whole system had failed the couple, and journalists in general. In the initial stage, the case was investigated by the Bangladesh Police, and the discrepancies started from there. The crime scene became a hot commodity within hours, and the investigating officers did the bare minimum to control the situation.
Their process of collecting evidence was also questionable. At first, it was reported that nothing had been stolen from the house, but it was later reported to the High Court that the couple's digital devices were, in fact, stolen. No viscera test was done during the autopsies, which was heavily scrutinized.
The police also weren't sure about whether they had found the motive behind the murders or not. The investigation overall showed a lack of urgency from the law enforcement officers, which rightfully agitated the public.
After the failed investigation, the case was then transferred to RAB. But the situation did not get any better. Although the RAB finally exhumed the body after two months and sent the collected samples for testing, many experts believed that it was already too late as viscera chemical analysis should be done within 15 days of the postmortem for the best results.
The exhumation did lead to the discovery of new DNA, but the DNA samples did not match any of the eight initial suspects announced by RAB. The suspect list itself garnered skepticism from the family and journalists who believed that there was a greater conspiracy behind the murders.
Turning to the administrative leaders for a fair trial didn't help either. It seemed like journalists had to protest on the streets for every minor update on the case. In a shameful turn of events, the protests conducted by the journalists to bring justice to their colleagues were criticized by political leaders, namely Sheikh Hasina, who said it was impossible to place guards outside everyone's bedroom.
The whole ordeal damaged the citizens' trust in our justice system. Even after 12 years, the case is just as unsolved as before. There have been no new discoveries in over a decade, and the probe report has yet to be submitted.
After the July Revolution, through a petition filed by the government, the High Court finally gave the order to transfer the case to a special task force. But will that be enough?
With time, evidence slowly decimates. Looking for new evidence a decade after the crime was committed is a daunting task. There are still useful DNA profilings, but without the supporting evidence, pointing out a suspect to match them is hard.
Digital evidence related to the case has also been compromised. The rumours that the couple was working on high-profile political stories can be looked into, but until now, that is purely speculation.
All in all, finding new leads in a decade-old case is not easy, and it may take another 12 years to solve it. But even if the case gets solved, it wouldn't truly ensure justice for the victims and their families.
In the past 12 years, the family has tried its best to find any clue behind the murders -- but to no avail. They, along with the general public, have been spectators to the gruesome murder and the nonchalant approach of the authorities, which has broken their trust in the law and order of the country. That issue cannot be solved with a mere sentencing.
Additionally, the Sagar-Runi case is considered a catalyst for the subsequent silencing of journalists and the media. Many of their peers have expressed that the brutality shown towards the couple and the injustice that followed showed that freedom of the press and media is a mere concept and has yet to be actualized in the country.
It has also desensitized the public towards the continuous oppression of journalists, and it would take years to get out of that mindset. Even if an adequate sentence is given, the path of breaking the long cycle of injustice seems grim.
Fahmida Yeasmin is a Research Assistant at the Department Of Law, North South University.
